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- 64 - It holds strong. All these matters prove the antiquity of the commentary in comparison to the Sarvarthasiddhi.
(g) "Communalism" – In comparison to the aforementioned two aspects, the matter of communalism is more significant. The Sarvarthasiddhi was written only after the formation of intense disagreements on subjects like time-elements, Kevalahār, Achalakā, and women's liberation, and after a communal bias was established regarding these matters, while this element of communal adherence does not appear in the commentary. In those matters where there is a conflict between the orthodox Shvetambara sect and the Digambara sect, the author of the Sarvarthasiddhi has made communal efforts to draw support for the Digambara sect by modifying the sutras, manipulating their meanings, or applying unrelated interpretations. Such an effort is not seen anywhere in the commentary. This clearly indicates that the Sarvarthasiddhi was written later, after a communal climate of opposition had set in, while the commentary is free from this atmosphere of conflict.
Then the question arises, if the commentary is indeed ancient, why was it left aside by the Digambara tradition? The answer is that the author of the Sarvarthasiddhi had to refute certain beliefs of the Shvetambara sect which he did not find in the commentary. Moreover, the commentary was not primarily supportive of the orthodox Digambara tradition and, in many instances, it appeared to contradict the Digambara tradition significantly. Therefore, the revered Pad wrote an independent commentary on the sutras, setting the commentary aside, made appropriate corrections and expansions in the text of the sutras, and where there were differences in interpretation, he addressed them.
1. See – 5.39; 6.13; 8.1; 9.9, 9.11, 10.9, etc., along with the commentary on those sutras from the Sarvarthasiddhi.
2. In the commentary on Tattvartha, 9.7 and 24, there is a mention of clothing, and in the commentary on 10.7, there is a reference to 'Tirthakriti Tirth'.
3. The question arises that if there was manipulation of meanings or details could not be accurately presented at places like Pulak, why were those sutras not omitted? The answer seems to be that due to the extreme fame of the text, there was fear of accusations of invalidity if they were omitted.